classical crossover

The Piano Guys’ Cello/Piano Cover of ‘Lord of the Rings’ Hits All the Right Notes

November 29, 2012

The Piano Guys have gained popularity by covering songs from Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, and Bruno Mars, just to name a few. Now, the ensemble is celebrating reaching 1 million subscribers by covering their most requested work – Lord of the Rings. According to the duo’s YouTube page, their arrangement of LOTR was [...]

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Fusion Violinist Charles Yang Conquers Bohemian Rhapsody

October 24, 2012

Yesterday, The Violin Channel posted an exciting video on Facebook of violinist Charles Yang singing and playing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The 23-year-old Juilliard graduate does an incredible job of layering acoustic and electric violin tracks. He also has an awesome rock voice reminiscent of former Journey lead singer Steve Perry. Yang’s impressive resume includes classical performances [...]

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Harp Duo Rocks Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”

July 30, 2012

Contrapuntist and I always enjoy learning about artists who walk the line between classical and rock music. One of Contrapuntist’s Google+ buddies (you know who you are!) shared a video with us by the unique Harp Twins duo of Camille and Kennerly Kitt. The identical twins perform internationally as an acoustic and electric harp duo. [...]

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Portland Cello Project: Mashing Up Hip-Hop, Jazz and Classical Music

May 18, 2012

Considering we love sharing news about classical crossover artists, I’m a little surprised at myself for not hearing about the Portland Cello Project until stumbling onto an this article. Founded in 2006/7, the Portland Cello Project boldly mixes up concert repertoire with traditional classical music repertoire and arrangements of jazz, hip-hop, rock and more. Check [...]

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“Symphony of Life’s” Sunny Adventure with Classical Music, Jazz and Prog-Rock

February 22, 2012

What do you get when you combine classical music, jazz, and progressive rock? The dynamic duo of Two Circles Music Co., a collaboration between Detroit Symphony Orchestra principal violist Alexander Mishnaevski and Toronto keyboard whiz Stuart Zaltz. Their debut album, The Symphony of Life, fuses diverse musical styles to describe a man’s journey through life. [...]

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Detroit Symphony Violist’s Electrified Adventures with “The Symphony of Life”

January 11, 2012

I recently came across a story on the Calgary Herald about Detroit Symphony Orchestra principal violist Alexander Mishnaevski’s collaboration with keyboardist Stuart Zaltz as the rock duo Two Circles Music Co. Their newly released album, Symphony of Life, fuses Mishnaevski’s classical music background and love of jazz violin with Zaltz’s passion for 70s progressive rock [...]

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs Guitarist Goes Classical with “41 Strings”

August 17, 2011

Spin.com featured an interview with Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner about his foray into classical composition. Loomstate clothing company commissioned the rocker to write a piece celebrating the 41st anniversary of Earth Day for a performance on May 11. Along with collaborators Hisham Akira Bharoocha and Ben Vida of Soft Circle, Zinner composed 41 [...]

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Rock Duo 2Cellos to Tour with Elton John This Summer

April 28, 2011

You’ve got to love how YouTube has given musicians the power to raise themselves to stardom in a way that would’ve been impossible even 15 years ago. The latest viral Internet music fairytale is 2Cellos, a pair of 24-year-old cellists from Croatia. Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser posted a self-made music video of themselves performing [...]

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Hits and Misses from Dancing with the Stars Classical Night

April 12, 2011

The Dancing with the Stars Classical Week April 11 episode featured classical crossover violinist David Garrett and mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, backed by a 46-piece orchestra. The show included some great performances despite a few musical mishaps. One musical highlight of the evening was David Garrett’s outstanding display of virtuosic classical chops mixed with rock sensibility. [...]

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Violinist David Garrett to Perform on Dancing with the Stars

April 7, 2011

I was intrigued to hear that classical crossover violinist David Garrett will be performing on April 11 and 12 as part of a Classical Theme Week on Dancing with the Stars. According to TVGuide.com, the two spiral ballroom staircases will be removed to make room for a 38 piece orchestra. Executive producer Conrad Green said, [...]